Keytruda PBS Listing Expanded for More Cancer Patients
30 Mar 2026
Keytruda PBS Listing Expanded for More Cancer Patients
Pembrolizumab, sold as Keytruda, will now be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for three new types of advanced and high-risk cancers, benefiting more than 10,000 patients.
From 1 April, Keytruda will be available on the PBS for:
- High-risk, locally advanced cervical cancer – cancer that has spread beyond the cervix but not to distant organs.
- Renal cell carcinoma – for patients at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence after surgery.
- Locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma – including cancers of the oral cavity, larynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx.
This expands Keytruda’s existing PBS listings for breast cancer and other cervical cancers, giving it a total of 21 PBS-approved indications.
Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler called the announcement “incredibly exciting.” He said, “Keytruda is one of the most extraordinary drugs available in the country – it has been saving hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide for years.”
Minister Butler added that while work continues towards an all-cancer PBS listing, these three new approvals will improve the lives of thousands of Australians.
https://www1.racgp.org.au/
Source: Australian Government / PBS